The oldest partnership was inherited from the previous district Hanau, and was formed in 1972 with the Croatian municipality of Kutina – however it took till the 20th anniversary in 1992 that this partnership was officially signed. In 1986 the district parliament decided to start a developing project with the Diriamba region in Nicaragua.

A friendship was signed in 1997 with the Russian city Troitsk, together with the partnership of the city Wächtersbach with Troitsk. In 2000 a treaty of friendship was signed with the Italian province Belluno, as well as a partnership with the Israeli city Ramat Gan.

The coat of arms is a combination of the coat of arms of the previous districts which were merged in 1974. The swan in top comes from the Hanau district, and is the old crest of the Counts of Hanau. The eagle in the left is taken from the city of Gelnhausen. The bars in the right are taken from the coat of arms of the Lords of Hutten, who owned the area around Bad Soden and Salmünster, formerly part of the Schlüchtern district.